Persian

[ pur-zhuh n, -shuh n ]
/ ˈpɜr ʒən, -ʃən /

adjective

of or relating to ancient and recent Persia (now Iran), its people, or their language.

noun

a member of the native peoples of Iran, descended in part from the ancient Iranians.
a citizen of ancient Persia.
an Iranian language, the principal language of Iran and western Afghanistan, in its historical and modern forms. Compare Old Persian, Pahlavi, Farsi.
Architecture. a figure of a man used as a column.
Persians. Persian blinds.

Origin of Persian

1325–75; Persi(a) + -an; replacing Middle English Persien < Middle French; replacing Old English Persisc (see -ish1)

OTHER WORDS FROM Persian

pre-Per·sian, adjective, noun pseu·do-Per·sian, adjective, noun trans-Per·sian, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for persian

British Dictionary definitions for persian

Persian
/ (ˈpɜːʃən) /

adjective

of or relating to ancient Persia or modern Iran, their inhabitants, or their languages

noun

a native, citizen, or inhabitant of modern Iran; an Iranian
a member of an Indo-European people of West Iranian speech who established a great empire in SW Asia in the 6th century bc
the language of Iran or Persia in any of its ancient or modern forms, belonging to the West Iranian branch of the Indo-European family See also Avestan, Old Persian, Pahlavi 2, Farsi